Best Picture, Ten Nominations: Good or Bad?

Of the films eligible for the 2009 Oscars The Dark Knight was by far the best film but it failed to pick up an Oscar nomination. Had the new system of ten nominations been in place there really wouldn’t have been any excuses for not nominating it but to be honest I don’t see any good reason anyway. Frost/Nixon was a great little film with first rate acting but failed to completely elevate itself from its origins as a play. Milk was probably the strongest film outside the eventual winner Slumdog Millionaire. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was too long and deeply flawed, not a serious contender. The Reader was a very weak film and was simply making up the numbers.

So is the ten nominations idea a good one and how has it affected the nominations? Avatar: after its huge box-office and its technological advancements it would have been impossible for the academy to overlook this one. It doesn’t deserve to win but probably will. The Blind Side: having not seen the movie yet it is hard to judge but the buzz is that it is an average film with a great central performance. There is always one of those in the mix. District 9: A relatively low-budget sci-fi thriller is not the Oscar norm, would have been overlooked in previous years. An Education: A little British film based on a true story with a period setting (1960’s), the kind of movie that would only get a nod in a weak year. Its profile should be helped by the nomination. The Hurt Locker: By far the best (eligible) movie of the year had to be nominated and deserves to win, although it probably won’t. Inglourious Basterds: At first glance this looks like the real victor in the extended field. Tarantino isn’t Oscar friendly, Inglourious Basterds being the first movie recognised by the academy since Pulp Fictions best screenplay win/best director nomination fifteen years ago. Having said that it is nominated in seven other categories so was obviously well received with the academy. Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. A good film but not a great one. Great acting and an overly emotional story meant it was always going to get nominated. A Serious Man: A quirky little film from the Coen brothers. Far from their best movie, worth seeing but I think it would get a nomination in a category of five. Up: Animated films (even more so than foreign language films) have never really established themselves in the best picture race. Beauty and the Beast is the only animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture, quite rightly it lost to The Silence of the Lambs but a few years later Toy Story (not nominated) was a better film than the winner Braveheart. The was such a great buzz around Up that it may have got a nomination anyway but realistically it wouldn’t have, having their own category now is probably counter productive for animated movies. That leaves the question, what would have been nominated had their been just five. Although not my choices I think the five would be: Up in the Air, The Hurt Locker, Avatar, Precious and The Blind Side. Meaning the ones that miss out would be: Inglourious Basterds, Up, District 9, An Education and A Serious Man.

To really work the extended category shouldn’t just pick more of the same; it should go for movies that would have never been considered in the category of five. Sci-Fi movies, comedies, small independent films a few suggestions of films that could have made the ten: Moon: a low-budget sci-fi move that was superior to District 9. The White Ribbon: The only foreign langue nomination eligible in other categories, unlucky to miss out. Where the Wild Things Are: Not the kind of film the academy recognises. (500 Days) of Summer: Not enough room for this and Up in the Air. Antichrist: too controversial. Watchmen: Never really in with a chance but it was better than Avatar. Fish Tank: The best British film of last year, too small for the academy.

I don’t think the ten nomination thing has really improved the category this year, merely diluted it but in future years if it does lead to a more diverse list it will be worth it. So let’s look out for more comedy animation and a foreign language movies in future best picture nominations. Blockbusters, comic book adaptations and art movie that didn’t break even all have the same right to be nominated if they are good enough. Having said all that I will be happy this year if The Hurt Locker or Inglourious Basterds triumphs over James Cameron and his Smurfs. For more information on this years Oscars take a look at The LAMB Devours the Oscars by clicking on the lamb below:

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10 Responses

Man, you hate those Smurfs. And youre still going on about Watchmen..?
although I have to kinda agree with you that Watchmen was equal of Avatar, if a different kind of movie.
had Watchmen’s last hour not been so dreadful i would consider it with the regard you do

See, I think the ten nominations already did what it set out to do by including movies the mass audience had seen (UP, D9, and yes indeed THE BLIND SIDE). Part of the reason why they wanted to broaden the field was to try and up their audience.

The last few years, rightly or wrongly, Best Picture nominations have been dominated by smaller titles that the audience at large hasn’t seen. Kinda makes the whole show uninteresting to the casual movie-goer.

Where I think they REALLY would have screwed up, is if those bottom five nominations had been just a continuation of the status quo (ie THE LAST STATION, THE MESSENGER, THE YOUNG VICTORIA, A SINGLE MAN, etc)

I wouldn’t say the category is diluted. These were ten of the best movies this year for a lot of people, and while not all of them are deserving of a win – they almost all deserve to at least be in the conversation.

Now, if there had ever been a year before now where ten movies came out that were just fucking phenomenal, all could have been top contenders for Best Pic, but only five were allowed to be chosen, then we’d having something to talk about. Unfortunately, that has never happened and the addition of five more movies to the roster this year makes the award seem that much more like a pat on the back than a privelege. Agree with you completely on this one, an unnecessary change to the system.

Yep, all the possible positives of a ten picture race are somewhat undermined by the fact that there are only ever five real contenders – it’s nigh impossible to win without a Best Director nomination. Driving Miss Daisy being the last film to win without a Best Director nomination.

I’m a little miffed that films like District 9 and Up are just treated as “also rans” as opposed to being in contention. It’s just a past on the head.

I haven’t seen Fish Tank but I hear good things. I’ll say you’re spot on with Moon and (500) Days of Summer. But Watchmen??? I geek out over that movie as much as anyone and still don’t see Oscar, brotha!

That’s kind of the point of the blog, I know it wasn’t the reason for extending the category but for me the only justifiable reason for doing it would be to include more varied movies. As such Watchmen is a good example of a film that is better than some of the nominated movies but didn’t have a hope in hell of getting a nomination as it is the wrong type of film. I have spoken to many people who agree with me that The Dark Knight was a better film than all last years nominations but acepts that it didn’t get nominated as comic book movies don’t get nominated. I’m not a fan of animation and haven’t seen Up but I am glad it was nominatted as it shows diversity, its a shame The White Ribbon didn’t make the list though.